THE LIMITS OF A TECHNOLOGICAL FIX TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

1. THE LIMITS OF A TECHNOLOGICAL FIX TO KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT EPISTEMOLOGICAL, POLITICAL & CULTURAL ISSUES IN THE CASE OF INTRANET IMPLEMENTATION

2. EPISTEMOLOGICAL ISSUES • KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PREDICATED UPON AN INFORMATION PROCESSING EPISTEMOLOGY • WHAT ABOUT TACIT KNOWLEDGE? • KNOWLEDGE CANNOT EXIST INDEPENDENTLY OF HUMAN AGENTS • WHAT ABOUT SOPHISTICATED ICT SOLUTIONS?

3. RELATIONS BETWEEN LABOUR & CAPITAL IN PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT • POPULARISERS OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT HAVE A UTOPIAN VISION & IGNORE CONFLICT BETWEEN CAPITAL & LABOUR • RESPONSE TO DIFFICULTIES OF RETAINING SCARCE & MOBILE LABOUR • KNOWLEDGE IS POWER SO HOARD KNOWLEDGE FOR CAREER ADVANTAGE • ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL KNOWLEDGE WORKERS MAY BE RESISTED E.G. IN POOR TRADING POSITIONS

4. NORMATIVE CONTROL & KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT • KNOWLEDGE HOARDING AT GROUP LEVEL WITHIN SUB-CULTURES • UNDER-DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ACROSS GROUPS • KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SEEN AS AN ATTEMPT BY EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TO EXERCISE NORMATIVE CONTROL TO CULTIVATE COMMUNITY TENDENCIES • KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT NEEDS TO EVOLVE NATURALLY FROM FIRM’S CULTURES AND PRACTICES

5. CASE STUDY • SALES & MARKETING ARM OF UK PHARMA COMPANY – PHARMCO NATIONAL • EMPLOYEES WORK IS KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE • INTERVIEWED 46 MIDDLE MANAGERS, KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TEAM MEMBERS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, GRADUATE MANAGEMENT TRAINEES

6. KNOWLEDGE IS CONTEXT SPECIFIC & EMBEDDED IN PRACTICE • CHIEF EXECUTIVE: ‘the intranet will mine the real nuggets of knowledge’ • KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TEAM: ‘we became techie and nerdie’ • EMPLOYEES: ‘I don’t know who needs to know it, when do they need to know it, why they need to know it so I can put it in a way that is useful to them’. • EMPLOYEES: ‘our knowledge is like fresh air, you can’t see it … it’s a hunch about a customer …’

7. POWER: CONTESTING OF THE SHARING OF KNOWLEDGE • CHIEF EXECUTIVE; ‘wiring all employees’ brains together to produce one super brain’ …’our knowledge gives us our advantage over our competitors’ … ‘we pay their wages’ [so lay claim to their knowledge] • MIDDLE MANAGERS: ‘the experience I have built up over the years is knowledge the organization needs. They have to keep me if they want to benefit from my years of experience. They can’t replace me with a young kid …’

8. NORMATIVE CONTROL: OPPOSITIONAL SUB-CULTURES • CHIEF EXECUTIVE: ‘the intranet is going to bring knowledge held by the different silos in the organization together so that everyone has access to it’ • EMPLOYEES: ‘We’re from different planets’ … ‘Why should I tell someone in marketing, that is still wet behind the ears from university, what they need to do to make the brand work in the field through a learning review document. They should be out there in the field finding out for themselves, not flying a desk’ … ‘We see the world through different filters’

9. CONCLUSION • IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT IN THE APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE • EMPLOYEES PERCEIVE ATTEMPTS TO MANAGE KNOWLEDGE AS EXPOITATIVE • SUB-CULTURAL CLEAVAGES EXPOSED THE RATHER HARMONIOUS ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT COMMUNITY • TECHNICAL FIXES MERELY HARDEN EXISTING PRACTICES & ROUTINES • SCOPE FOR EMPLOYEES TO RESIST KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT